


A Better Offer

by Diana Williams (dkwilliams), dkwilliams



Series: Tales of a Potions Master [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Humor, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-05
Updated: 2015-01-05
Packaged: 2018-03-05 09:51:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3115643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dkwilliams/pseuds/Diana%20Williams, https://archiveofourown.org/users/dkwilliams/pseuds/dkwilliams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When life at Hogwarts becomes unbearable, Severus Snape considers a change of employment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Better Offer

Severus Snape sat in one of the chairs in the Headmaster's office, impatiently drumming his fingers on the arm. A roll of parchment lay on his lap, a letter that had taken him most of the night to compose. The rest of the night had been spent rehearsing what he would say to Dumbledore, working out just the right phrasing to convince the Headmaster of his determination without revealing too much of his hidden motives. 

"Ah, Severus!" Dumbledore smiled genially as he entered the room. "So sorry to have kept you waiting. There was a bit of a muddle over the permission slips for Harry's field trip this spring. Seems they weren't sent home with his students when they left for Christmas break, so we had to arrange for special delivery owls, then we couldn't find the list of students who'd signed up for the trip and Harry had to Floo back to find it, and..." Dumbledore broke off, chuckling softly. "And now I'm boring you to tears, aren't I, dear boy?" 

Snape chose not to say anything in response to that, although his hand tightened on the scroll at the mention of Harry Potter's name. 

Dumbledore settled into his chair. "Well, that's been sorted, so now there's just the matter of finding another teacher to chaperone the trip. Dear me, I had no idea so many of our students would be interested in an excursion into the Muggle world! Although I must admit that the - what did Harry call it? - Amusement park sounds like jolly good fun." 

"Indeed," Snape said dryly, inwardly shuddering as he recalled Potter's enthusiastic description of said park at the last staff meeting. "Perhaps you should volunteer to chaperone, Albus." 

Dumbledore looked entranced by the idea. "Perhaps I will. An excellent suggestion, Severus." He sat back in his chair. "Now, you said there was something you wished to discuss with me?" 

"Yes." The moment was here, and Snape drew in a deep breath before launching into his speech. "Albus, for the past twenty years, I have had the rather dubious, not to mention nearly impossible, task of imparting a knowledge of potions to a succession of ungrateful and distressingly inept children." 

"And a fine job you've done, too, Severus," Dumbledore said warmly. "Tea?" 

"No, thank you, Albus." Snape stifled his irritation at the interruption. "I hope I am not unjustly flattering myself when I say that I have been able, to some extent, to accomplish that task - " 

"Of course, you have, Severus," Dumbledore said soothingly, pushing a cup of tea towards him. "Sugar?" 

"Thank you, no." Snape frowned slightly, trying to remember where he'd been in his speech when Dumbledore had interrupted him again. Accomplish goal. Right. "- and I shall always be exceedingly grateful to you, Albus, for your support and faith in me - " 

"Nonsense, Severus. I knew from the start that you'd be a good teacher, as well as invaluable in defeating Voldemort. Biscuit?" 

"No. Thank you." Snape took a calming breath and started again. "Nevertheless, I believe the time has come for me to consider other, outside pursuits - " 

"Sweets?" Dumbledore asked, pushing the candy dish toward Snape. 

"Bloody hell, Albus!" Severus snapped. "Would you let me get through the sodding speech just once? I worked most of the night on it!" 

Dumbledore's sharp eyes were suddenly focused on his face, and Snape knew the Headmaster was reading him as easily as a book. "There's no need, Severus," Dumbledore said quietly. "I understand the meaning behind your speech quite well. You are tendering your resignation." 

"Yes," Snape said, letting out a relieved breath. There. It was over and done with, no going back. He was surprised to feel dismay as well as relief, and quickly set the scroll on the desk. "Here is my letter, which I believe you and the Board will find satisfactory. If that will be all..." He stood up, eager to make his escape before he snatched back the scroll. 

"Why?" 

Snape was halfway to the door before Dumbledore's question stopped him. He turned around and raised an eyebrow at the Headmaster. "Sorry, but I don't - " 

"I asked 'why', Severus. Surely that's not an unusual a question for me to ask a teacher wishing to leave Hogwarts' employ?" Dumbledore cocked his head slightly at Snape. "Do sit down, child, and drink your tea." 

Snape reluctantly returned to his chair and picked up his cup. 

"Now then," Dumbledore said. "I am sure you can see that this comes as quite a surprise to me. I thought you were - " He paused, and Snape could almost see him searching for a more appropriate word than 'happy'. " - content here at Hogwarts." 

Snape was ready with his answer. "I have had an offer from a private company, a position as Head of Potions Research. More than adequate compensation, I chose my own hours and pick my own staff, with unlimited funding for research. It is an incredible offer, Albus." 

Dumbledore nodded. "It sounds wonderful, indeed, but what is the real reason behind your leaving Hogwarts?" 

Snape's hand tightened around his teacup and he carefully set it back down on the table. Damn Albus Dumbledore for going right to the heart of the matter, for refusing to let me take the easy road for once. "You know the real reason," he said, resignedly. Of course Dumbledore knew. He'd been there at the start, hadn't he? 

Dumbledore nodded. "Harry." 

"Indeed. Harry." Snape turned his head away from the Headmaster and his all-too-knowing eyes, and he stared unseeingly out the window and into memories four years old... 

* * *

It was a damnably cold winter, starting with an unseasonably early blizzard in October and continuing with no sign of letting up. You-Know-Who, people whispered. There was no longer any doubt that Voldemort had returned, not when attacks by his Death Eaters were occurring nearly every week. Fudge had been revealed as a traitor, a supporter of Voldemort, and was at large in the countryside while the new Minister, Arthur Weasley, attempted to pull together a panicked wizarding community. The ranks of the Aurors swelled with new graduates from Hogwarts - Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger among them, as well as Draco Malfoy. His defection to the side of the Light had surprised just about everyone except, of course, Dumbledore and Snape. 

Harry Potter remained at Hogwarts, part of a new Task Force organized to track Voldemort's moves and anticipate his next one. A job that required Potter and Snape to work closely together, head of the task force and his chief spy. The friction that had always existed between them, combined with tensions from Voldemort's near-constant attacks, made the situation volatile to say the least. And one afternoon, after they had learned that Snape had been betrayed as a spy, Snape's stubborn resolve to answer the Dark Lord's latest summons had caused their tensions to come to a head in a shouting match. 

A shouting match that came to an abrupt and unexpected end when Potter grabbed Snape, grabbed him and kissed him hard. Snape was stunned into immobility until Harry started to pull away, and then he wrapped his arms around the younger wizard and kissed him back until they were both breathless. 

And hard. Somehow, they ended up back in Snape's room, naked and wrestling on his bed. Snape tried to devour his young lover's body, kissing and licking and biting every inch of delicious flesh while Harry shouted hoarse encouragement. He swallowed Harry's prick and drained every drop from him, then opened Harry's body and fucked both of them into oblivion. 

It was only afterwards, when they were cleaning themselves and remaking the bed, that Harry admitted it was his first time with another male. That led to another shouting match - Snape demanding to know what Harry was thinking, giving his virginity to his greasy git of a former potions master, and Harry shouting back that it was his virginity and he'd damn well give it to any one he wanted - which ended up with Snape flat on his back with Harry's prick shoved up his arse while stars exploded in Snape's brain. 

That set the pattern for them - shouting matches interspersed with frenzied shagging sessions. Snape knew it wasn't serious, and it certainly wasn't love. It was - a tension reliever. A way for two comrades in a grim and deadly war to release their frustrations. So he wasn't surprised when, after they defeated Lord Voldemort, Harry went off without a backward glance. 

Snape remained behind, of course. He had a position of responsibility to uphold and couldn't go gallivanting around the world. Dumbledore relied on him, and there were many orphaned and shattered young Slytherins needing his attention, so he couldn't have gone with Potter, even if that look in Harry's eyes as he was leaving had really meant "come with me", as Snape had briefly thought it did. And neither could he ask Harry to stay. Whatever they had, whatever the past six months had meant, it didn't mean that either of them had a claim on the other. 

Snape remained, and he was kept too busy to miss Harry Potter - or so he tried to tell himself. There were students who'd lost parents and siblings on both sides of the war, and the former divisiveness of the Houses had to be bridged or Hogwarts would be torn apart. Snape, a Slytherin now revealed to have been a spy for the Light, was one of Dumbledore's key pieces and, as always, Snape gave in to the Headmaster's machinations. The fact that this required Snape to rediscover who he really was, now that 'Death Eater' and 'spy' were no longer part of his job description, absorbed the rest of his time and energy. So it wouldn't have been surprising if he'd managed to completely forget about Harry Potter. 

Except that Fate, fickle bitch that she was, conspired to remind Snape of Potter at every turn. A month after Potter's departure, Snape opened the Daily Prophet to find a lengthy article about Harry Potter's trip to Egypt (visiting Bill Weasley and his family, it turned out) and his encounter with a mummy. There'd been an accompanying photo with the story, Harry smiling sheepishly at the camera while a beautiful young witch he'd rescued from the clutches of the mummy clung to his arm and looked up at him adoringly. The next month it was Romania, and the return of a stolen dragon, and someone who looked oddly enough like a Weasley leaning suspiciously close to Harry. 

Snape immediately cancelled his subscription to the Daily Prophet. 

Not that it mattered. Albus was all too willing to share his copy of the paper with Snape, not to mention discussing Potter's exploits in excruciating detail over the dinner table with other staff members, all of whom appeared to be members of the Harry Potter Fan Club. Worst of all, Remus Lupin had returned to Hogwarts as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Black turned up at distressingly regular intervals, confirming the rumor that they were lovers. Their constant yammering about Potter drove Snape from the table as soon as he finished eating, to take refuge in the staff room. 

Until the staff room began suffering a similar Potter Invasion. Some staff member with appalling taste and a subscription to Witch Weekly had taken to leaving copies of it lying around the room. Snape choked on his coffee when he recognized the face on the cover, under the banner "Harry Potter - Boxers or Briefs?" Snape could have answered that question, but he was too busy glaring at the simpering young witch hanging on Harry's arm. Snape enjoyed methodically shredding each page and burning the scraps. 

Unfortunately, that didn't resolve the problem as the magazine continued to show up in the staff room. Potter's face appeared on the cover with appalling regularity, accompanied by gossip about the latest witch or wizard keeping company with him and surveys with inane questions such as 'What does Harry look for in a lover?' and 'What turns Harry on out of bed?'. Snape didn't need his abysmally low score on the quiz to tell him he didn't have the slightest clue. Snape's fireplace was used with extreme frequency over the following three years. 

And then, suddenly, Harry walked back into Hogwarts. Snape's jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw Potter sitting at the Head Table on the first evening of the new school year. When Dumbledore casually announced that Harry would be the new professor of Muggle Studies and assistant Quidditch coach, Snape glared murderously at the Headmaster. The old fool had known Harry Potter was coming back to Hogwarts, and he hadn't even given Snape a decent warning. 

And Snape certainly needed one. He couldn't take his eyes off the young wizard. There was something - different about Harry. It wasn't the lack of those hideous glasses or the fact that he'd finally managed to gain some control over that impossible hair - the pictures in Witch Weekly had prepared him for those changes. No, the difference was in the Harry moved, with an air of assurance he'd lacked in the past. This was a young man who'd come to terms with who he was and what he'd done, who was no longer intimidated by what the wizarding world expected of him. And Snape wasn't the only one staring at the young wizard - every occupant of the Hall with two hormones to rub together had his or her attention completely focused on Harry Potter. 

Snape fled to the dungeon as soon as it was decently possible and barricaded himself there, reluctant to leave lest he run into Potter. Which was absolutely ridiculous; he was an adult and he'd faced down Death Eaters and Voldemort, so why on earth would he be both dreading and anticipating meeting Harry Potter face-to-face? There was no reason why his palms should be sweating like an adolescent on his first date - and it certainly wasn't because he had any residual feelings for the young wizard. 

After a week, he realized Harry wasn't making any effort to seek him out, and he didn't know whether to be relieved or insulted. Deciding he was safe from any dangerous encounters, he ventured into the staff room in search of coffee and, coincidentally, ran into Harry Potter walking out. They both paused, and then Harry smiled and held out his hand. 

"Professor Snape," he said, exactly as if they were meeting for the first time. "Good to see you again." 

Stunned, Snape actually let Potter shake his hand and then watched as the young man walked away, chatting casually with Hooch about the upcoming Quidditch tryouts. Exactly as if what had happened between them almost four years earlier meant nothing. 

Snape went back to his rooms and shredded his last copy of Witch Weekly, after which he made Double Potions class absolute hell for the 2nd year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws... 

* * *

Dumbledore cleared his throat and Snape looked back at him, refocusing on the here and now. He found, to his dismay, that his hands were shaking and he folded them together to keep from betraying himself. 

"I cannot stay," he said quietly. "I - seeing him everyday and knowing - it is torture more insidious and painful than the Cruciatus curse ever was." 

Dumbledore nodded sympathetically. "I understand. I will, of course, release you from your obligations for the coming year." In a soft voice, he said, "I shall miss you, dear boy. Need I add that I hope you will not become a stranger?" 

Snape's throat tightened. "Thank you, Albus," he managed to say before fleeing to his dungeons so he could recover his composure. 

* * *

Dinner that evening was quieter than usual. The students remaining at Hogswart over the Christmas break had spent the day in Hogsmeade, and Dumbledore had extended the treat by allowing them to eat supper - what little they'd eat after stuffing themselves with candy all day - in their Common rooms. Only those staff members who'd returned from Christmas vacation were present in the Great Hall, and they were talking quietly to one another about their holiday. Snape ignored the rest of the teachers, particularly Harry Potter chatting amiably with Lupin. He stared silently at his plate as he forced himself to eat, contemplating how soon he could escape this torture. 

"I have a bit of news," Dumbledore announced suddenly. "We're going to need another Potions master, and I welcome recommendations from all of you." He glanced down the table at Harry. "Harry, as I recall, Ms. Granger-Weasley was quite good at potions. I know she's teaching Charms at Beauxbaton, but do you think she could be persuaded into considering the position?" 

Snape clenched his fists under the table until his nails bit into his flesh. The idea of someone else in his workrooms, his classrooms was abhorrent. Touching his potions, fingering his carefully maintained stock of ingredients, disturbing the order of his equipment... 

Harry was frowning. "I can ask her, but - why do we need another Potions Master?" Snape could feel Harry's eyes turn to him, and saw a glimmer of a smile on his face. "Workload getting too much, Severus? Or are you planning on taking a little vacation?" 

"I'm leaving," Snape said shortly. "Permanently." 

Harry looked stunned. "Leaving?" 

"Yes," Dumbledore said genially. "Severus has been offered the most marvelous opportunity as head of Research for a private company. Generous compensation, a free hand for research...and no students to teach." 

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at that, and there was a little laughter from the other teachers. Snape ground his teeth together. 

"What do you mean, you're leaving?" Harry's voice was sharp, and Snape was surprised to hear anger in it. 

"Just that," he replied coolly. "Not that it should matter to you, Potter." 

"So you're just walking out on me?" Harry demanded. "Just like that?" 

Snape's eyes narrowed, and resentments many years old boiled up. "As I recall, I'm not the one who walked out. You did - three and a half years ago." 

Harry glared at him. "You didn't tell me not to go." 

Dryly, Snape said, "I wasn't aware that you required my permission to stay or go. I was under the assumption that you were an adult, capable of making your own decisions." 

"I thought you wanted me to go! Dammit, do you have any idea how much it hurt to leave you?" 

Oh, yes, Snape thought. I know all about that kind of hurt. Out loud he said, "You didn't seem to be in much pain over the last three years, considering the number of notches you carved on your broomstick." 

"That didn't matter," Harry said impatiently. "They didn't matter. I came back to you in the end, didn't I?" 

"You came back to Hogwarts." 

"I came back to you. And I've been waiting for you to make the next move, to let me know you wanted me back." 

Snape's jaw dropped. "You - I - how dare you!" 

"Fine." Harry pushed back his chair and stood up. "If you won't make the next move, then I will." 

Snape sat paralyzed in his chair as Harry stalked around the end of the table. The glint in those green eyes was definitely predatory, and it was doing something to Snape's body that he hadn't felt in three years, except in dreams late at night. Harry grabbed him by the front of his robes and pulled him up out of his chair - and when, exactly, had Harry gotten this strong? Then Snape forgot to wonder about that as Harry's mouth was on his, Harry's tongue was tangled with his, Harry's hands were resting possessively on his ass... 

Snape decided that the little prat couldn't be allowed to have his way entirely and, since he was still taller by several inches, he wrapped his arms tightly around Harry and lifted him clear off the ground. Harry didn't seem to be in the least bit appalled by this display of forcefulness. In fact, the sound he made could be construed to be approval, and he wrapped his legs tightly around Snape's hips. This caused their groins to rub together, and the noises Harry uttered made Snape desperate to find the nearest flat surface and pound Harry through it. 

Dimly in the background, he was aware of a voice, a familiar one - and what was Dumbledore doing in his bedroom? 

"It seems we won't be needing a new Potions Master after all. Shall we adjourn to the staff room for coffee and afters?" 

Snape had the vague thought that he was going to be thoroughly embarrassed the next time he had to face his colleagues, but at the moment he couldn't care less. Harry had latched onto his neck, sucking on that one spot no one else had ever thought of touching, the spot that made Snape nearly insane with pleasure. Snape was aware of a locking and silencing spell being cast somewhere behind him, and then there was nothing but Harry's eyes, Harry's mouth, Harry's hands, Harry's desperate pleading, and the warmth of his body surrounding Snape... 

Snape never could recall quite how they made it downstairs after that, although he was thankful that they never quite managed to get rid of their robes during that frantic coupling on the table. The thought that one of his colleagues - or worse, a student - might have seen either or both of them naked made him shudder. 

Or maybe it was the way Harry was sucking on his nipples. He had a passing thought to ask one of the house elves to locate Harry's trousers and underpants before breakfast. He vaguely recalled flinging them in the direction of the Gryffindor table as he awarded one hundred points for a talented demonstration of hand-to-eye coordination by the former Gryffindor. Then a tongue flicking over his nipple recalled him to more important matters - like the beautiful body currently writhing under him. 

Snape captured Harry's mouth for a long kiss, and then began working his way down Harry's naked body. He loved the taste and feel of Harry's skin, and relished the chance to relearn his lover's body. He grinned as he realized that Harry was talking - Harry had always been a talker in bed and Snape was gratified to know that some things never change. 

"I'm moving down here - your rooms are bigger than mine," Harry was saying. "But I want a say in redecorating. The place is too gloomy, and what's with all the green? I don't remember it being so green before - of course, I wasn't paying too much attention to the dcor, as I recall." 

"Matches your eyes," Snape murmured against Harry's flat belly. 

"Oh." Harry was plainly disconcerted and gratified by that. "Well, that's all right, then, but I want more color and lighter furnishings. And a bigger bed, with more room for play." 

Snape liked that idea and hummed around Harry's prick to show his approval. Harry seemed to like that because he gasped and didn't do much more than moan for the next few minutes. Snape really wanted to hear what else Harry had to say, though, so he reluctantly released Harry's prick - for now - and proceeded down Harry's legs. 

"Any more demands?" he murmured. 

"What? Oh - right. I - oh God! that's brill! - I expect you to make an honest man out of me, so there had better be a ring on my finger before long, or I'll sic my godfather on you." 

"Spare me," Snape muttered. He had reached the inside of Harry's ankles, a spot he knew was particularly sensitive. He flicked his tongue across it and felt Harry convulse against him. "Marriage it is," he conceded when he thought Harry was coherent enough again to hear him. 

"And of course you'll accompany me on the fieldtrip for my Muggle studies class." 

Snape raised his head and looked at Harry with narrowed eyes. "Are you out of your mind? What little you've managed to retain after all your hare-brained escapades? You actually expect me to go to this - this - amusement park with you and thirty obnoxious brats?" Harry just grinned at him and Snape crawled back up Harry's body till he was once more pinning him to the bed. "Admit it, Potter. You only came back to me because you needed another chaperone." 

Harry's grin widened. "What can I say? Good chaperones are hard to find." Snape let out a snort. "And I know you'll terrify the wits out of anyone planning to act up on the trip." 

"That is, of course, pre-supposing that you actually convince me to accompany you on this departure into insanity." 

Harry tilted his head. "What if I offered you a bribe?" 

Snape's mouth curved into a reluctant smile. "How Slytherin of you. What kind of bribe?" 

In reply, Harry flipped Snape over on his back and settled between his legs. "I haven't told you about the places I visited while I was traveling," he said, his voice low and sexy. It made Snape feel like soft velvet had been rubbed over his skin, and he shivered. "One place, they had turned sexual pleasure into an art form and they taught me a few very useful things." 

"Like what?" Snape asked suspiciously. 

In reply, Harry went down on him and completely blew his mind. 

When Snape recovered enough strength to open his eyes and enough brain cells to think again, he opened his eyes to find Harry looking down at him, a smug look on his face. For once, he didn't mind. "When do we leave?" he croaked. 

Harry grinned. "Relax. We've got months before the trip." He leaned down to kiss Snape, and the Potions master wrapped an arm around Harry, pulling down to make it a thorough job. 

"Whatever shall we do in the meantime?" he murmured against Harry's lips. 

"I have a few ideas," Harry said, then nipped at Snape's bottom lip. "But first you're going to owl that company and turn down that job, right?" 

Right, Snape mentally agreed, but aloud he only said, "What shall I give them as a reason for changing my mind?" 

Harry grinned. "Tell them you've received a better offer, with a much better benefits package." 

Snape rolled with Harry, pinning him to the bed again, and decided that - rather than being too hasty - he had better investigate those benefits. Thoroughly. In fact, maybe he could get Albus to contact the company for him. Snape had a feeling he was going to be busy exploring them for quite some time to come.  



End file.
